News

This page summarizes some of the recent news about The Oregon Trail game, as well as providing links to see more details about each story. The links include news articles, essays, videos, and audio podcasts. Find out what the rest of the world is saying!

A new YouTube video by "The Bearded Nerd" (Ben Hardy) traces the history of The Oregon Trail game from its earliest beginnings to the release of Oregon Trail II more than 20 years later. The video also summarizes the history of MECC, the company that published the game.

A short article in Business Insider discusses the key role of the "sacred scrolls" in the history of The Oregon Trail game. At one point in the early 1970s, nothing remained of the game except for a printout of the program code. With the aid of this printout, the game was revived.

Three college roommates created the earliest version of The Oregon Trail way back in 1971, in a rapid two-week project. Motherboard interviewed these three men 46 years later to document their recollections of that crucial two-week period.

The classic game The Oregon Trail has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame! This award was created to recognize the most significant video games ever created. Each year six games are inducted, and this year The Oregon Trail was one of the six!

The hosts of The Modern Geek Show offer a special edition of their podcast, devoted entirely to the creation of The Oregon Trail game. The special guest is Philip Bouchard, lead designer and team leader of the famous 1985 Apple II version of the game.

A popular new term circulating the internet is "The Oregon Trail Generation". The idea is that an entire generation of kids grew up in the 1980s and 1990s playing The Oregon Trail – thus providing a common experience among everyone in this age range.

This short YouTube video pretends to be the "official trailer" for a film based on the famous educational game – but in fact it is a hilirious spoof of the game, putting a comic twist on the best-known memes from the product. Prepare for a good laugh!

You Have Died of Dysentery, a new book about the creation of The Oregon Trail game, is now available on Amazon. This book, written by the designer of the Apple II version of the game, provides a step-by-step history of how the game was designed and built.

Former employees of MECC, the company that created The Oregon Trail, have joined together to donate a large quantity of archival materials to the new MECC Collection at the Strong National Museum of Play. The museum is based in Rochester, New York, and is open to the public.

This YouTube video features young adults who were kids in the 1990s, attempting to play a 1990 DOS version of the game (a direct copy of the Apple II version). The players have mixed results and mixed reactions, but they are intrigued enough to want to play again!